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Auhau Snow Fields pictured on the opening day Saturday.
With the start of the ski season for South Canterbury’s ski fields coinciding with the start of the Australian and New Zealand winter school holidays – operators are expecting good numbers.
Two of the region’s ski resorts opened over the weekend with fantastic opening weekend conditions.
Mike Neilson, owner-operator of Ōhau Snow Fields, said they usually have about 160 skiers and walkers each opening day and this year was no different – with about that number hitting the slopes on Saturday.
“It was really great, lots of good snow and happy skiers,” Neilson said.
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Ōhau also has a lodge with 72 rooms, and Neilson said it was all booked out over the New Zealand school holiday period, which starts on Friday 8 July.
“Most of our bookings were made when people booked out last year,” Neilson said.
He said many of the snow enthusiasts who come to stay at Ōhau are regular and repeat visitors, describing Ōhau as a “holiday destination”.
An official count has not yet been done for Round Hill ski resort, but general manager Tim Douglass said there are “a lot of people on the ski fields and holidaying in Tekapo”.
“There are a lot of smiling faces out there,” Douglass said.
Round Hill opened Friday, with all beginner and intermediate courses open, and they were just waiting for a little more snow to open the Heritage Express Rope Tow, he said.
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Pictured at Ōhau Snow Fields on Saturday are Kaitlyn Cassidy, of Timaru, and instructor Kerry Bellringer.
Douglass was impressed with the amount of snowfall the ski field experienced in the run-up to the season opener.
“This is one of the better starts.
“It is going to be a very good season.”
Douglass said he noticed there were some Aussies lurking in the area making the best of the good snow.
“I definitely heard some Australian accents at the ticket booth,” Douglass said.
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Skiers and boarders on the opening weekend at Ōhau Snow Fields pictured.
Amy Lamb, owner of Book Twizel, said she made similar observations as Douglass’s in Twizel.
“There are definitely some Aussies around, they enjoy everything that is on offer.”
Lamb said there was a big buzz about Twizel over the weekend with a lot of people being out and about.
“There were heaps of people in town who loved it over the weekend,” Lamb said.
Lamb expects Twizel to be busy through the ski season and said accommodation bookings are strong for the school holidays.
Things went similarly well in Tekapo, according to holiday home manager Alex Gualter.
The Discover Tekapo Accommodation Manager said there were “many people coming from the North Island” with week-long stays booked over the school holiday period.
Mt Dobson Ski Area will now open on Wednesday 6 July after being postponed from its original opening date on 1 July.